Head of the School of Engineering Professor Paul Stewart said: “Acting as the client for the architectural practice made me consider some fairly fundamental questions about what an engineering building is, what’s in it and what should it look like.

“I tried to design the perfect school, which would offer the best possible facilities for research, the optimum environment for interacting with industry, and would be a very attractive proposition for potential students.

“I took a holistic approach to try to include all the things that were good and avoid things that I had perhaps encountered in the past and knew did not work in the context of an effective Engineering School.

“Visually it will look very modern with some huge glass panels so people will be able to see what’s going on inside as they walk past.”

The school, on the university’s Brayford campus, will be the first purpose-built engineering school in the UK for more than 20 years.

Other than the University and Siemens, funding for the building has come from Lincolnshire County Council, ERDF grant, EMDA and HEFCE.